Blue Monk Belgian beer bar in Buffalo, NY

[BrewsCampbell]

It's the latest, trendiest place to open up on Elmwood Ave., it has 30 taps of delicious brews with a large focus on Belgians!

I've been there a few times ad it is always packed. seven o'clock on a Wednesday...packed! But it is worth the trip and the wait.

Promoting itself as a Belgian beer bar, I expected the beer to be great, the variety to not leave me wanting and the glassware to be proper, and it all was spot on; the thing that blew me away was the food, it was absolutely spectacular.

Featuring a refreshingly small menu with daily specials, Blue Monk serves up a lot of dishes featuring Abby Ale in the recipe, and let me tell you it lends a sweet, savory layer that take the food to the next level. The Carbonnara something or other over egg noodles seems simply, but is a true gem of mouth-watering aroma and flavor.

My current fave, however, are the Duck Frites with choice of sauce. The bowl comes and it looks like any regular bowl of fries with a couple dipping suaces, but man o man. Frying the spuds in duck fat lends a splendous savory, almost roasty character to the fries that makes them better than you could imagine. The sauces really steal the show. Offering, iirc, seven different sauces (two with each order) you can customize the duck fry experience. Honey Cipotle aioli was my favorite, but from what I've heard, they are all delicious.

Cram your way in the door and wait for a table (they don't take reservations) and while you do, have a beer.

[smizak]

I was there last Sat., they stopped letting people in and there was a line at the door. Crazy.

Drank alot of Stillwater Saison.

[wheatfield]

My mouth is watering, going to have to check it out.

Steve

[smizak]

I just ate there last night before I went and watched the Sabres dispatch the Make-beliefs.

Great food, not super pricey. Mussels were fantastic.

[5L1mm]

yaknow? that has to be the one thing i dont like about south florida.
everything is so blanded down to be tourist friendly, that it doesnt have any super cultural spots.
nothing that is to far in any one direction.
so its hard to find a hard core {anything} shop.
except diving, lots of hardcore diving shops.

[5L1mm]

but seriously.
i want some craft beers dammit

[Ewienclawski]

I think its over-rated and waaaaaaay too expensive! I'd rather save some money and take a trip out to Consumers and buy a ton of beer and have fun at home!

[smizak]

Originally Posted by Ewienclawski

I think its over-rated and waaaaaaay too expensive! I'd rather save some money and take a trip out to Consumers and buy a ton of beer and have fun at home!

Yeah that's a fun option, but they also have beers on tap there that are not sold in bottles or available in stores. The price is about right, have you ever bought a keg of imported Belgian beer? Not much bulk discount.

What would you consider overrated? I thought the food was great and priced reasonably. I just got back from NYC and I'd put Blue Monks beer list against any beer bar I was at there.

Make sure your beer is from this years batch when you take it home from Consumers. I stopped going there after buying a year-old six pack of DFH 60 min. Tried them again one more time about a year later and couldn't find a GLBC beer that wasn't past it's expiration date. They're notorious for mishandling beer.

[xenophobe2020]

How do the prices at Blue Monk compare to Coles? The only reason I havnt stopped in is because it's kind of a haul for me and I fear that due to the specific nature of what they're selling they may jack the prices up some.

[zonabb]

A few friends have gone due to the novelty but the prices have been outrageous, and the crowd highly pretentious, and they said they won't go back.